The 2026 NHL draft had it all.

Bold swings, franchise-altering hauls, and a Justin Bieber cameo highlighted two entertaining days in Buffalo as the NHL ushered in its next generation of stars.

For most teams, the draft is about finding value, addressing organizational needs, and setting up for long-term success.

Some accomplished all three, while others left a lot to be desired.

Let’s break down some of the best and worst performances of the 2026 NHL draft.

Standout Selections: Ivar Stenberg, Keaton Verhoeff, Ryan Lin

Friday’s first round was a pivotal moment for the San Jose Sharks’ organizational trajectory. Landing two of the draft’s high-end defensive prospects in Keaton Verhoeff and Ryan Lin after already securing a competitive, pro-ready, top-line winger in Ivar Stenberg solidifies the Sharks as a future Stanley Cup contender.

The Sharks already had the league’s best pool of prospects, and they separated themselves even further from the rest of the league after this year’s draft. Filling a need while also getting the best available player is a rare opportunity, and it feels like they did so with every first-round selection.

Standout Selections: Gavin McKenna, Alexander Bilecki, Ethan MacKenzie, Patriks Plumins

The Toronto Maple Leafs left the 2026 draft with the top available prospect and a legitimate foundation of talent at all positions. Trading away Brandon Carlo to the St. Louis Blues offered them the opportunity to finish with six picks in the top 100, reloading the cupboards with promising young defenders in Alexander Bilecki and Ethan MacKenzie while adding immediate roster help in Gavin McKenna. 

John Chayka is tasked with a difficult balancing act of improving the Maple Leafs’ roster for the short and long term, and this was the exact strategy they needed to maintain a longer competitive window.

Standout Selections: Caleb Malhotra, Adam Novotny, Brooks Rogowski, Niklas Aaram-Olsen

Since the draft combine, it felt like a foregone conclusion that Caleb Malhotra, the cerebral two-way center and son of newly-named head coach Manny Malhotra, was going to headline the Vancouver Canucks’ 2026 class. 

However, the following selections of Adam Novotny, Brooks Rogowski, and Niklas Aaram-Olsen showcased that the amateur scouting department’s assessment of talent is amongst the strongest in the NHL right now. For an organization that will likely be hovering near the top of the draft for the next few seasons, this group of players should give Canucks fans hope for a bright future ahead.

Standout Selections: Wyatt Cullen, Tommy Bleyl

The Nashville Predators need dynamic young forwards and found one in Wyatt Cullen, who proved to be one of the silkiest handlers and most creative offensive minds in this year’s class. The Predators also added to their pool of young mobile defenders with Tommy Bleyl. 

Bleyl was one of the Moncton Wildcats’ most important players this season and was a consistent riser in this year’s rankings, possessing high upside and giving the Predators a potential top-four offensive-defenseman of the future. Nabbing one of this year’s top goaltenders in Dmitry Borichev with the 70th pick was also a nice touch.

Standout Selections: Chase Reid, Casey Mutryn

The Seattle Kraken needed a win after news broke earlier in the week that Jason Robertson declined a massive eight-year contract to join the franchise, and Chase Reid falling in their lap at the seventh overall spot was exactly that.

Reid has the chance to develop into a bona fide No. 1 defenseman in Seattle and was widely regarded as a top-five pick leading up to the draft. Adding Casey Mutryn early in the second round was also a great choice, bringing a profile of physicality and goal-scoring potential that was absent from the Kraken’s pipeline.

Standout Selections: Oscar Hemming, Alessandro Di Iorio

The Columbus Blue Jackets needed to target surefire NHL talent after a few underwhelming outcomes from their early-round selections over the past few seasons, and they managed to do so by landing Oscar Hemming with the 13th pick. 

The punishing power forward has the tools to be an impactful middle-six forward with legit offensive upside despite the absence of eye-popping stats at the NCAA level. Third-round pick Alessandro Di Iorio had a difficult season with the Sarnia Sting, but could still end up as a bottom-six forward with his defensive habits.

Standout Selections: Xavier Villeneuve, Ryan Roobroeck, Samu Alalauri

Kyle Davidson and the Chicago Blackhawks may not have fully redeemed themselves after parting ways with the fourth overall selection earlier this week, but taking high-upside bets on dynamic defensemen Xavier Villeneuve and towering sniper Ryan Roobroeck with consecutive picks could prove to be big swings that pay off. 

Both players entered the season as highly-touted first-round picks and had their stocks drop after frustrating campaigns that revealed obvious flaws. However, Villeneuve brings an offensive presence that has been absent from the Blackhawks’ defensive pipeline, and Roobroeck has the foundational tools to become a complementary top-six scorer with the right development.

Standout Selections: Liam Ruck, Markus Ruck, Tomas Galvas, Pierce Mbuyi

It’s not surprising that Kyle Dubas was the one who managed to bring together the Ruck twins. The Pittsburgh Penguins GM has a clear track record of drafting undersized, skilled offensive players, and that trend stretched beyond the Ruck twins this year with overager Tomas Galvas and Pierce Mbuyi entering the team’s system.

While the overall talent in the Penguins’ class is certainly valuable, it feels like they could’ve used some players with different development profiles to diversify their pipeline better. There’s only so much room for players of that type on a contending roster in today’s NHL.

Standout Selections: Jaxon Cover, Jonas Lagerberg Hoen

It was refreshing to see the Ottawa Senators target some intriguing, skilled wingers with Jonas Lagerberg Hoen and Jaxon Cover, after a few years in which they clearly departed from that strategy. However, the value they ended up with, relative to their draft position, is pretty low.

Cover is a fantastic story and will be a fascinating project. At the same time, Lagerberg Hoen has an impressive shot that’s led him to score at a high clip at nearly every level, but it’s hard to believe that either of them wouldn’t have been available to trade back for at a later point.

Standout Selections: Maksim Sokolovskii, Brek Liske, Martin Psohlavec

When drafting, NHL teams usually weigh the decision between players who may be the best available and those who may be the best organizational fit. Maksim Sokolovskii really didn’t check either of those boxes for the Philadelphia Flyers at 27th overall.

Standing at 6-foot-8, weighing 240 pounds, Sokolovskii has drawn comparisons to Nikita Zadorov as a physical, shutdown, defensive defenseman. There’s definitely value in that, but with little upside, it would be a much more justifiable selection in the second round rather than the first. Adding a two-way blueliner in Brek Liske and one of the top goaltending prospects in Martin Psohlavec helps elevate their class, but it was certainly a rough start.

Standout Selections: Oleg Kulebyakin

Julien BriseBois has made it clear in the past that retaining high-end draft picks is not a priority for the Tampa Bay Lightning as they maintain their window of Stanley Cup contention. However, that sentiment was palatable when they were picking up and developing late-round steals like Anthony Cirelli, Ross Colton, and, more recently, Gage Goncalves.

With a prospect pool that already ranks among the worst in the league, the Lightning failed to really provide any substantial boost to its farm system. Oleg Kulebyakin is a crafty handler who’s coming off an impressive year with the Halifax Mooseheads, but that decision is still a huge gamble at 52nd overall and doesn’t inspire a ton of confidence for the future.

See more of The Hockey News on Google and save us as a preferred source. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.